What is the PUN and what is it for

A short guide to understand how the PUN affects energy costs

What is the PUN

The PUN (Italian acronym for Prezzo Unico Nazionale, "National Single Price") is the wholesale reference price of electricity purchased on the Borsa Elettrica Italiana market (IPEX - Italian Power Exchange). At the Italian Power Exchange, active since 2007 following the entry into force of the Legislative Decree governing the liberalization of the electricity market, the transactions between producers and suppliers of electricity are regulated. The PUN therefore represents the national weighted average of the zonal sales prices of electricity for each hour and for each day. The national figure is an amount that is calculated on the average of various factors, and which takes into account the quantities and prices formed in the different areas of Italy and at different times of the day.

Where you can find the PUN value

Knowing the value of the PUN is easy, just access the site of the Energy Market Manager (GME) in the "sintesi mensile" section at the following link. After accepting the General Conditions and the content of GME's website, you will have the opportunity to consult the documentation in the "monthly summary" section. By selecting the month of interest you will be able to check the peak and off peak energy PUN.

How the PUN affects the price of energy

The wholesale price of electricity is established directly on the market based on the trades between the various players involved, i.e. between producers and energy suppliers (who purchase the energy from producers to supply to their end customers). The fluctuations of the PUN are a determining factor in calculating the final costs of energy in the bill. In fact, in the periods in which the PUN increases its value, costs tend to rise, to fall instead when the value of the PUN falls. Energy suppliers generally provide for tariffs for the final consumer at a fixed cost or at an indexed cost as regards the price of the energy component. Opting for an indexed price of the energy component means that this will vary over time depending on the performance of the PUN on the Italian Power Exchange. An offer at a fixed price of the energy component, on the other hand, will remain unchanged for a certain period of time depending on the offer chosen, generally for one or two years.